LATE APRIL INTO MAY
The successes of early spring have now given way to water temperatures on the rise. This has been an interesting season for a couple reasons. One, the water temperature stayed right around 70 degrees for much longer than usual. This led to a prolonged early spring bite, but it also prevented the influx of bait we are accustomed to inside Tampa Bay. Bait has been a daily grind more than ever, and we are hoping that all changes this week. We are no having a warming trend that is pushing water temps towards 80 quickly. So enough about that.
WHAT’S BITING THIS SPRING
The flats fishing continues to be very productive, but we are now catching larger fish each week. The redfish are prowling shallow and feeding heavily on a variety of baits. The snook fishing has changed from catching dozens of 23 inch fish, to now catching several over 30 inches each day. That’s nice. Away from the flats in spring we always look forward to the pelagic run off the beaches. The water temps staying in the low 70’s for so long blessed us with a strong kingfish season so far. Lot’s of 20lb+ fish have been caught, and the smaller “schoolies” are a blast on lighter gear. Anglers of all types this spring have enjoyed catching these exciting fish. While we don’t eat a lot of kingfish as they are seasonal, I do like to smoke at least one and make a huge batch of smoked fish spread. Giving tubs of fish spread out as many people as a can makes me feel like Santa in spring.
WHAT’S COMING UP NEXT
The next month will be a transition time from spring to summer. The focus will now move towards giant tarpon season. We will be starting an exciting new project that will feature lot’s of video. A new Youtube channel will be launched, and I think you are all going to enjoy it. We will even be live streaming some of our fishing action, so don’t miss out on that. Better yet, just book a charter and experience it for first hand!
Capt. Ben
